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SPECIALITEA IS THE NEW WINE

Hostess Anamika Singh first offered water and rice cookies to "cleanse the palate" and then handed out little shot glasses filled with 'Firdaus', a green tea blend. "Notice the hint of saffron, marigold and cockscomb...

Hostess Anamika Singh first offered water and rice cookies to "cleanse the palate" and then handed out little shot glasses filled with 'Firdaus', a green tea blend. "Notice the hint of saffron, marigold and cockscomb flowers," she said, showing them how to take a loud, slurping sip to appreciate the Pahalgaminspired flavours.
For tea quaffing Indians, a good cup is one filled with the viscous doodh-kam-patti-tez concoction. Or milky, sweet chai, flavoured with crushed ginger and assorted leaves and roots. But tea evangelists are trying to give urban Indians a taste of more elegantly flavoursome gourmet brews. Tea lounges have opened at malls and five-stars, and fine-dining restaurants such as The Table in Mumbai and the Diva chain in Delhi are even offering tea and food pairings. There are tea appreciation workshops where you learn to tell the oolong from the black, and travel trails to Assam and Darjeeling estates.
"Tea is not just the new wine. It is the new champagne. It is not about drinking a cup every morning, it is about the experience," says Kaushal Dugar, founder of Teabox, an online retailer of premium leaf teas.
Teabox is among the several recent start-ups catering to the growing demand for luxury teas. Launched three years ago, the company has since shipped Rs 2 crore worth of tea to customers in 75 countries. Over the last 12 months, orders have grown 10-fold. Though only a small percentage of Teabox's customers are based in India, Duggar says the market is growing rapidly.

Delhi-based brand Anandini Himalaya Tea sells at least 150 tea cans across NCR every week while Goa-based Tea Trunk claims it is "inundated" with orders for its handcrafted blends such as Marigold Green Tea, which uses real marigold flowers.
The teas sold by Tea Trunk, Teabox and Anandini are priced anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 for a 100-gram pack. The tea we ordinarily buy costs just Rs 200 to Rs 350 per kg.
Tea industry experts say that Indians are beginning to appreciate the idea of milk-less brews. When one of the earliest players in the premium-tea zone, Chaado, opened its first outlet in Mumbai in 2008, customers would stare incredulously at the tea jars and quibble about coughing up Rs 40 for a cup. "We survived because of expats and Bengali customers who appreciated fine teas," says Amit Mehta, who heads Chado's India business. Today, Chado has nine outlets across the country and even its most expensive tea — white pearl jasmine tea which sells at Rs 64,000 per kg — finds ample takers.
Pune-based software engineer Anirudh Joshi is a dedicated Teabox client and spends at least Rs 1,000 every month, picking a variety of leaves on offer. "The teas taste much better than the kind one gets at grocery stores," he says. When the parcel arrives, Joshi makes it point to sit down and read the evocative text at the back. "Balanced malty nuances, alongside mild mineral hints which round out the flavors perfectly, leaving a pleasantly nutty and medium,length finish on the palate" — going by the prose, the 2015 Frost Blend Nilgiri Black Tea could well be a bottle of rare whisky.
In fact, just like whisky traders who boast of their single malt collection, Anamika Singh, too, proudly informs her customers that Anandini teas are 'single-estate' — they are sourced from her estate near Dharamsala. Everyone who comes here gets a bit of tea gyaan — never, for example, to stew tea or how to look for one that matches your needs. When singer Shubha Mudgal walked in recently and asked for a light tea she could sip through the day, Singh gave her a handmade flowery green.
Tea Trunk's owner Snigdha Manchanda hosts workshops and tea tastings for hotels and corporates. The session starts with three bowls of tea — Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. "Nine of ten participants can't tell the difference," says Manchanda, 31, who has trained to be a tea sommelier. .

Teabox is an online tea shop that delivers, every single day, the freshest Indian teas from estates in Darjeeling, Assam, and the Nilgiris as well as freshest teas from Nepal to tea lovers everywhere.

As a company, we believe tea is so much more than just a staple part of mornings and meals. An exceptional cup of tea, for us, has a more exalted place in the everyday life.

Why Teabox.com

We believe tea is endlessly engaging, brings people together, provides a sense of peace and well-being, and grants of a moment to yourself when you most need it. Great tea touches upon art, defines a sense of culture, marks a ritual, and offers a sense of connoisseurship. But a truly remarkable cup of tea is one which enhances the everyday.

This is the goal we are trying to achieve through our tea store - to bring great tea into the everyday life.

Freshest teas that make a delicious cup

So, what makes our teas great? Well, it’s got a lot to do with freshness. And the reason why freshness matters is because tea is an agricultural product. So, fresher tea tastes better and is healthier. We buy the first pick of every season and take utmost care when it comes to storage and packaging. We work directly with tea growers who know to hand-select tea leaves for their texture, color, scent, and purity. And by sourcing the highest-quality Indian teas directly from the most capable and most interesting growers and estates, Teabox’s online tea shop makes it easy for anyone—from tea experts to complete novices—to experience the freshness, delicate aromas, flavors, and authenticity that fine loose-leaf tea has to offer. We can do this because we’re based in the same foothills and gardens where our teas are grown.

Shopping with Teabox.com

With Teabox, shopping for fresh loose-leaf tea from India is easy because you make an informed purchase and you know exactly where your tea is coming from. Every batch of tea we procure is put up on our online tea store along with its invoice number, date of plucking, specialty and tea grade. And so, every time you sip one of our expert-curated teas, you are in the company of the most authentic tea experience there is.

For someone who loves tea, commitment to good tea comes naturally. We are trying to uphold this commitment every day with Teabox.

*Not applicable on subscription and only TeaPacs orders.

Disclaimer:

1. Any or all deals offered on/by any or all third party portals, platforms, marketplaces, and affiliate sites cannot be claimed on Teabox.com and Teabox.com is not liable to fulfil such claims.2. Any or all deals must be claimed with the third party portals, platforms, marketplaces, and affiliate sites where such offers have appeared. Teabox.com will not and is not bound to fulfil such claims.